Small standard pistol primers vs. magnum

[Motobob]

What would the outcome from substituting magnum primers for standards. I run a standard target load at the bottom of the chart.

[macphisto]

Don't do it unless it's specified by the load data! Primers alone are capable of generating 5,000psi.

[Pinnacle]

Don't do it unless it's specified by the load data! Primers alone are capable of generating 5,000psi.

Atta boy Mac


Using standard primers is more than adequate for most things - there are some powders that do require magnum primers - follow the load data.

[Motobob]

Well here's the deal, I mistakenly bought small magnum primers and would like to use them for some worthy cause.

[macphisto]

Do you load .357 Mag? Speer 13 calls for magnum primers using 296, H110, HS-7, and HS-6. Same for several other calibers with the same powders including .41 Mag, .44 Mag, and 10mm. I still have a hundred Winchester small pistol magnum primers kicking around from when I first bought my reloading equipment. I didn't know any better...and neither did the salesman at Gander.

[Motobob]

Do you load .357 Mag? Speer 13 calls for magnum primers using 296, H110, HS-7, and HS-6. Same for several other calibers with the same powders including .41 Mag, .44 Mag, and 10mm. I still have a hundred Winchester small pistol magnum primers kicking around from when I first bought my reloading equipment. I didn't know any better...and neither did the salesman at Gander.

Thanks Mac, I thought the 357 used large pistol primer but you are correct and should win some type of prize. I do know the 10 mm and the 44 use large pistol primers.

[macphisto]

.357 seems to be the ticket then. I wasn't even thinking about small vs. large primers. No prize for me!

I wonder what other calibers, if any, use small pistol magnum primers.

[Seismic Sam]

.357 seems to be the ticket then. I wasn't even thinking about small vs. large primers. No prize for me!

I wonder what other calibers, if any, use small pistol magnum primers.

I can't think of any offhand, except perhaps the 357 Sig, 32 H&R magnum, or the 5.7 (:{) ,unless you want to do something weird and funky and load up some 256 Winchester Magnums. Not only will substituting magnum primers potentially run your pressures up, but it can also RUIN the consistency of the load altogether.

[DeanC]

The 5.7 x 28 does not use magnum primers. It uses small rifle primers or small pistol primers. Magnum primers can blow up your gun.

From Accurate:

Special Notes:
1) This is an extremely sensitive caliber, please adhere closely to indicated loads and COL guidelines.
2) Allways begin loading at the MINIMUM "START" load and increase with 0.1grain increments

[MNBud]

.357 seems to be the ticket then. I wasn't even thinking about small vs. large primers. No prize for me!

I wonder what other calibers, if any, use small pistol magnum primers.

I have two reloading book and both of them have the load data for 38 special as being able to use cci 500 or 550. 500 are regular and 550 are Magnum primers.550 with Bullseye powder is my combination.

[macphisto]

.357 seems to be the ticket then. I wasn't even thinking about small vs. large primers. No prize for me!

I wonder what other calibers, if any, use small pistol magnum primers.

I have two reloading book and both of them have the load data for 38 special as being able to use cci 500 or 550. 500 are regular and 550 are Magnum primers.550 with Bullseye powder is my combination.

Interesting stuff. The only book I own is Speer 13, but I also use data from the Alliant and Winchester websites as well as the small pamphlets that came with my Lee dies. Speer 13 lists CCI 500 and 550 primers in the cartridge summary for .38 Special, but loads using magnum primers are supposed to be denoted with asterisks and see I see none.

I've been curious about Bullseye, but my big concern is the minimal powder volume (i.e. easier to make a very bad mistake). Unique has quickly become my powder of choice and I just bought a four pound jug from John at Gunstop the other day...and I load on a single-stage press; amazing how quickly I'm going through the stuff. What I really like is that I can load 9mm and .45 using the same powder charge so I don't have to even adjust my powder measure to switch between the two. I've had good results using it for .357 practice loads as well, although Blue Dot offers the most WOW factor of the powders I've tried. With Unique and a watchful, or even lazy, eye, a double-charge is pretty obvious. In 9mm, it will overflow the case and in .45 will nearly fill it up. I caught one the other night while cranking out some .45s...damn TV.

[MNBud]

I was taught reloading by a very anal person so every operation I do is from one reloading shell holder to another. In other word one holder to my left has fifty shells and the one to my right is empty. As I size and de-cap it goes to the other tray,as they get primed they go to the tray up side down so I can look across the bases in case there would be one that didn't get pushed to the bottom of the shell
( this would be pretty hard to do with the new RCBS primer loader ).
They all get powder and then I have a bench light to sweep across the top to double check height of powder.You are correct about the powder level with bullseye,you could probably get a triple in a 38 shell. ONCE

[Pinnacle]

There is one application where I used Magnum primers in a standard load and

I AM NOT ADVOCATING SUBSTITUTIONS HERE FOLKS

A mag primer can Clean up a load of Bullseye in a light charged case - 38's You have a HUGE margin if safety with a target 38 load as light as it gets.

The mag primer cleans up the bullseye a tad and makes life easier at cleanup - other than that - I use Mag primers where they are called for and not where they are not.

[Seismic Sam]

And to stress Pinnacle's point, DO NOT, under any circumstances, make substitutions like this unless you know what you're doing, and that means verifying how light the load is by the primer signs, and also by chronographing it. (And if you don't have a chrono, then you got NO right to even be thinking about stuff like this!!)

You casually swap a magnum primer for a regular with a max load of Bullseye or something else, and you'll be picking brass out of your face.

[1911fan]

I had a few loads for 9x23 and 38 super that used mag primers, but those days are long since gone. I ended up using WSR primers in starline brass instead as the seemed to allow for reloading the cases at least a couple of times....otherwise, it was not uncommon to pick up brass that had self deprimed....